97

The prelude to the Shibuya Incident had just begun, and the enemy's actions had not yet been fully launched, but Gojo Satoru had already defeated all the offensives with an overwhelming victory.

All the enemies present were wiped out, leaving no one alive.

When senior officials arrived at the scene to investigate, they saw that Shibuya Station had completely collapsed, and the surrounding buildings had collapsed in large areas. Everywhere they looked, there were only ruins of broken walls and rubble.

A trace of doubt crossed everyone's face, and an inexplicable sense of disharmony arose in their hearts - they knew that Gojo Satoru's actions always inevitably caused large-scale damage to buildings, but the messy traces before them always felt a little different from his usual style, almost brutal and thorough.

It wasn't until the monitoring personnel sent a report confirming that the remaining cursed energy residue at the scene completely matched Gojo Satoru's characteristics that the top management's hearts were slightly relieved - it seemed that it was indeed Gojo Satoru himself who did it.

Gojo Satoru remained at the devastated scene, handling final matters and reporting the situation. He stood atop the crumbling ruins, his figure erect as a pine tree, his hands casually tucked into his pockets, his gaze fixed on the distant skyline. His expression was his usual calm, save for a faint hint of melancholy at the corners of his brow, suggesting he might be in a rather bad mood.

Suddenly, several light figures flashed by, and a white-haired girl landed beside him with a few neat jumps, her movements were crisp and agile.

Not far away, an assistant supervisor subconsciously narrowed his eyes and looked carefully. When he saw the person clearly, he couldn't help but say "Oh" in his heart - it was Gojo Satoru's student, the new special-grade sorcerer who had recently become famous in the sorcery world and was promoted not long ago, Hipper.

"What's the matter?" He asked without turning his head, with a hint of coldness in his tone.

The person who came was not Hipper - the face was exactly the same as Hipper's, the silver hair shone coldly in the dust of the ruins, and the indifferent aura around him, which belonged to the original celestial body and had a sense of data, was completely different from the girl's liveliness.

Tsk, why are you looking for him instead of going to work? Looking for trouble?

His eyebrows slightly raised, and he caught a glimpse of the unconcealable joy in the other person's eyes from the corner of his eye, and his irritability rose a little more.

It seems to be in a good mood, but I am very upset now.

Completely ignoring the expulsion evident on the man's face, the Primordial Celestial Body spoke to himself with a brisk tone, "I have two pieces of good news. Which one do you want to hear first?"

Good news?

Gojo Satoru was skeptical about this. The "good news" for it might not be the same for himself, so it didn't sound very credible.

He didn't respond, and the Primordial Body didn't get angry. As if it had anticipated his reaction, it revealed the first answer: "Hippo, just now, I transcended death."

The man turned his head suddenly, his pale eyes filled with astonishment, his gaze completely fixed on it. His look of utter disbelief obviously pleased the Primordial Celestial Body.

It continued to throw out a second message: "In the simulated universe, a third six-eyed person appeared."

There was no change on Gojo Satoru's face at this news. It was something he had already expected, so he was certainly not surprised when it was confirmed.

"This Six-Eyes," the Primordial Celestial Body paused, clearly catching the man's suddenly tense nerves, before slowly completing the second half of the sentence, "was saved by Hipper with his own life."

It could sense that the moment these words came out of his mouth, Gojo Satoru's breathing paused for a very short time.

Wow, are you surprised?

"Life for life, the principle of equal exchange, right?" it reminded him, not quite kindly. "The death curse on Hipper has been covered by a new curse. As for this new curse..."

The ending tone was dragged out lightly, but it accurately caught the man's attention.

"You should be very familiar with it."

After informing him of the two pieces of information, it turned and left, its white hair blowing in the night wind. Before it left, it turned back and casually said:

"Love is the most twisted curse - you said that." After relaying the message, the figure melted into the shadow of the ruins.

"……call."

Yeah?

Use love as her shackles and curses as chains to tie her tightly to your side?

That's really...

The fingers hanging at her sides curled slightly, and indescribable emotions surged in her blue eyes: joy, enthusiasm, and a hidden paranoia. After a moment, a voice, with an irrepressible joy, gently escaped her lips.

"marvelous."

Wrapped in a sigh of relief, there is also a distortion of determination to get what she wants - the bondage in the name of love is a shackle that she will put on with a smile; the prison in the name of love is a siege that she will willingly step into on tiptoe; the lies in the name of love are honey that she will happily swallow with her eyes closed.

As long as this emotion comes from Liuyan, no matter how it is distorted, no matter how much paranoia and possessiveness it is wrapped in, she will accept it without reservation and be happy with it.

It was as if it was an instinct engraved in her bones and blood - her love for him had long since made her give up all her judgment and resistance, leaving only her complete and utter willingness.

"Hmm...how should I reward her when she comes back?" He put his fingertips on his temples and hummed a strange little tune, as if he was thinking about some interesting toy.

But there was a voice in my heart whispering: Let's make her suffer.

Since she could grit her teeth and swallow the heart-wrenching pain while crying, then this reward that belonged to him alone should also allow her to enjoy it.

After all, isn't what Hipper is best at doing, giving him whatever he wants and enjoying it?

Even if you feel like crying, you should still put on a smile, okay?

The man leaned over and gazed at the ruins beneath his feet, his fingertips frivolously tracing the empty space, as if already touching the corners of those imagined, moist eyes. Those six pale eyes held undisguised anticipation, a mixture of indulgence and ill will, carrying a chilling sense of oppression.

"Teacher is...very much looking forward to it."

The ending tone is long, like a thin thread, entwined with the upcoming reunion, and also entwined with the smile that is destined to bloom in tears.

"Don't blame the teacher for not giving you a chance." He stood up straight and put his hands back into his pockets. His face was calm, but there was a dark tide in his eyes that had been suppressed for a long time.

There are so many opportunities right in front of you, why don’t you seize them?

Without setting any constraints, making any promises, or even leaving a decent message, he just disappeared like that.

Your dear Gojo teacher is...

"I've tolerated you for a long time."

The last few words seemed to be squeezed out from between the teeth, with stubbornness and anger. The endurance accumulated for countless days and nights finally showed its edges at this moment.

…

"Ah, he disappeared. I was just about to ask about the situation." The assistant supervisor looked at the place where the man had just stood, frowned slightly, and there was a hint of regret in his tone.

He glanced around the devastated ruins in front of him and confirmed that the figure that was there just now had indeed disappeared without a trace. He could only sigh helplessly.

"Forget it." He shook his head and turned to ask someone else.

*

Gojo Satoru, who had been brought in as an outsider, sat cross-legged in the recliner beside Hipper, his gaze fixed on her. The young woman was crouching in her office chair, leaning forward, her fingertips gliding rapidly across the virtual panel floating before her, issuing commands one after another to a complex torrent of data, her voice filled with uncontrollable joy.

This situation has lasted for two hours.

And her current appearance clearly showed that she was overly excited - her cheeks, which had originally appeared pale due to lack of sugar supply and hunger, now had a healthy blush, and even her eyes were surprisingly bright.

It's clearly a state of continuous overexcitement...

He just felt pity.

Did you actually spend it all on work?

"I'm hungry," Hipper instructed the person sitting beside him without turning his head, his eyes still fixed on the data stream scrolling in front of him and his fingertips tapping on the virtual panel without stopping.

"Get a piece of cake and a rice ball, and heat them up. Also get a bottle of drink. You can't drink red, but you can drink anything else."

"Hmm... Come to think of it, am I no longer human? Although I still have this body, I can no longer feel physiological needs like hunger."

He hadn't felt hungry since he woke up. He stood up, put on his shoes, and walked to the refrigerator to get what Hipper wanted.

"My data has been mixed into your body," Hipper answered his question while rapidly tapping on the virtual keyboard to fix the vulnerability. "You can be considered a cyborg, right? Human... about half and half?"

Really? As long as you haven't lost your instinct for desire, that's fine.

When the refrigerator door was opened, a stream of cold, misty air wafted out. Gojo Satoru turned back, his gaze settling on the neatly stacked food in the freezer, and suddenly fell into an eerie silence.

"Hey, Hipper," he turned around, holding a glass bottle filled with an unknown red liquid, with an indescribable complex expression on his face, "Why are you putting curses in the refrigerator?"

There was still frost on the bottle, but the curse that was about to break through the container was surprisingly strong, with a heart-pounding sense of oppression.

"I've never seen such an exaggerated curse smell before." He waved his hand in disdain, full of confusion. "Aren't you worried about contaminating other food?"

Hearing this, Hipper turned her chair to face him, arms wrapped around her knees, and looked at him obediently. She blinked her long eyelashes, the innocence and purity in her gesture completely different from the excitement she had just experienced while processing data.

"Ah—that's a special medicine for sugar supplementation."

ha? !

Gojo Satoru was stunned.

Are you kidding me? Drinking a curse of this magnitude would be like swallowing Ryomen Sukuna's finger—a sudden death, right?

Sugar supplement?

Did he hear it right?

"Tsk." Gojo Satoru brought the bottle of special medicine with a strange red light in his hand closer to his eyes, and stared at the bottle of liquid carefully with his six eyes.

No matter how he looked at it, the information given back by the Six Eyes only gave him one conclusion—

curse.

A pure, deadly curse.

Its level of danger is no less than that of Ryomen Sukuna's cursed power core, and it even exudes an even more destructive aura.

This thing... a sugar supplement?

His fingertips stroked the cold bottle wall, and he turned his gaze to the innocent little girl.

And pretending to be innocent.

"So," he shook the glass bottle in his hand, and the red liquid created strange ripples in the bottle, "is this the red drink you said I can't drink?"

What kind of drink is this?

It's a highly toxic substance labeled as a sugar supplement.

The man's eyes were filled with questioning words like "Are you kidding me?"

"This curse is harmless to me," Hipper turned back to face the data stream, his fingertips moving again, "You...will probably turn into cursed spirits if you drink it."

As she spoke, she urged Gojo Satoru to heat up the rice balls quickly and bring them over.

"After all, it's my child. Being eaten by my mother is a kind of happiness."

“……?”

What to eat?

Holding the bottle of red liquid, he stared down at the bottle and fell into deep thought.

"Mother of Curses?" He smacked his lips in disbelief. "This is incredible... How did you even think of eating them? And... even squeezing them into juice as a drink?"

This is too weird.

All curses should look similar. How angry must one be to be able to say such a thing?

He shook the bottle, listened to the sound of the liquid inside sloshing, and felt a chill on his back.

Hipper was mad. She was so angry that she even dared to put something like this in her mouth... Wait, what did she say just now? A child?

"Ah? You're married?"

Gojo Satoru reacted suddenly, his eyes fixed on the gleaming ring on the girl's left ring finger. Like a firecracker with a lit fuse, he exploded instantly and his voice became higher.

"Huh? Married? No." The man at work waved at him, motioning for the bottle of red drink to be handed over. "This is the promised ring."

With a cold face, the man stuffed the heated rice balls, cake, and the bottle of strange "sugar supplement" into her arms, and uttered two words through gritted teeth: "Explanation!"

How can you wear a ring on your hand casually?

If anyone wants to wear it, he should be the one to put it on her!

Staring at the ring, his six blue eyes were filled with displeasure, as if someone had tampered with his property, and he felt "unhappy" all over.

She stopped what she was doing, crossed her legs, turned around in her chair to face him, and with a swift movement, unscrewed the cap of the bottle that exuded a deadly curse, then tilted her head back and drank the red liquid in one gulp.

"Ha - alive." Hipper squinted his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. The blush on his face seemed to be brighter. Then he picked up the rice ball and cake and ate the rice in small bites.

"Hmm..." She chewed her food and spoke vaguely, looking across. "What's wrong? Are you angry?"

Isn't it obvious?

The man crossed his arms across his chest, his childlike face was as cold as ice, and the low pressure around him was quite intimidating.

"Hey, put it on." Hipper bit the rice ball, freed his hands, took off the ring on his ring finger, and put it on his hand without saying a word.

Logically, a ring suitable for her slender finger wouldn't fit Gojo Satoru's. But the moment the ring touched his ring finger, it shimmered like a living thing, instantly reconstructing its form and wrapping itself securely around the base of his finger, the size being just right.

The ring...was actually put on like that.

The cool metal against her skin felt strangely chilling. This smooth process only intensified the inexplicable irritation I'd felt, even more so than when I'd seen the ring on her hand.

Staring at the reshaped ring on her finger, her brows furrowed even tighter - what is this? Comfort?

"Cheer up," he said, swallowing the cake. A circle of cream stained the corners of his mouth. His cheeks puffed up as he spoke, and he lost his usual cool demeanor. Hipper freed one hand and gently patted the back of his hand, her fingertips still cold from the food.

"This is a ring that can control the domain. It's my symbol."

Maybe she was extremely hungry, she didn't care about her image at all while eating, and even got some cream on the tip of her nose.

"Why are you so obsessed with the ring?" she asked vaguely, unable to understand Gojo Satoru's behavior.

He stared at the cream on the corner of her mouth, then looked down at the ring on his finger, and the nameless anger in his heart rose up again.

Does this idiot know what giving the ring to him means to him?

He gritted his teeth in hatred, his blue eyes filled with anger and anxiety, but he didn't know how to speak to her when facing her like this.

"...Let me confirm, you know the meaning of giving a ring, right?"

No matter how much she thought about it, a straightforward question was ultimately more satisfying. Gojo Satoru closed the distance between them, gently shaking the ring that fitted her perfectly. His usual nonchalance faded, and he now exuded the serious aura of a teacher, his gaze fixed on her.

"Hmm? The meaning?" Hipper chewed the fork in his mouth, the last word unclear, without a trace of nervousness on his face. "I know, it's a proposal."

The moment the words fell, Gojo Satoru was stunned.

He has always been a headache for those around him with his frivolous and casual nature, but today he truly experienced the feeling of powerlessness as if his fist was hitting cotton and all his strength was wasted.

He couldn't find the right words to respond for a moment, and felt that the serious aura he had just created was pierced by Hipper's answer.

"...So are you proposing?"

The man hung his head, his voice weak and listless.

What kind of Schrödinger's trick is this person using? I just said "I love you," but now I can't even figure out the meaning of giving her a ring. Really...

"Do you want me to propose?"

!!!!!!!!!!!!

He raised his head suddenly, and the astonishment and disbelief on his face were clear at a glance, as if the words just now were a fairy tale. He even doubted whether he had heard it wrongly.

"Well...it's not impossible." Hipper licked the cream from the corner of her mouth, waved at him, and smiled.

The girl leaned forward, resting her arms on his thighs, looking up at him with a smile in her eyes.

She bit his ring finger with her teeth, the force was as light as a feather brush.

"Ahem," Hipper cleared his throat and spoke seriously, "Excuse me, Mr. Gojo, are you willing to marry... um, I said the wrong thing."

She gently placed his ring-wearing hand against her cheek, rubbing her cheek against the cool metal, then lowered her head and placed a kiss on his palm.

When he looked up again, the smile in his eyes faded a little, and there was more serious tenderness. "Excuse me, will you share your last name with me and put it before my first name? Will you marry me? Will you love me, respect me, comfort me, and protect me in good times and bad, until death do you die?"

Seeing his fingertips trembling and his breathing seemed to be stagnant, Xipo leaned forward and kissed his lips, her voice soft and gentle, urging him like a spoiled child -

"Just say I do, Wu."

The heart beat wildly in the chest, making the eardrums buzz and even giving rise to the illusion of tinnitus and dizziness.

Is it an illusion?

This is not good... He is really in trouble.

How could he possibly refuse her proposal so directly and tenderly? He didn't even have the slightest thought of resisting.

"I do."

The three words came out almost instantly, with a slight tremor.

I'm happy to share the surname "Gojo," and I'm happy to marry you. Loving you, respecting you, comforting you, protecting you...this is a husband's responsibility.

"I do, Hipper."

He repeated it again, this time in a much calmer voice.

The love in my heart rushed out, grew wildly in my heart, and finally bloomed into a brilliant starlight.

Whether it was the curse, the ring, or the oath at this moment, it was never these forms that truly bound them.

It's redemption.

And redemption is always a two-way effort.